Annoying Things Women Do

Nine Things Women Do That Annoy Guys The Most, Explained

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus? No, actually, men and women are both from Earth, which means it would be awesome if we could stop seeing each other as alien life-forms. But, let’s face it — as women, we can be annoying. And when you’re a guy who dates girls, you may find yourself getting incredibly irked by certain things that women seem to do over and over again. I’m here to explain some of the annoying things women do — class is now in session.

1. Taking A Long Time To Get Ready

Being a woman is hard. We have these incredibly impossible beauty standards to live up to, and it’s a lot of work to look even remotely like the women on the magazine covers. And as women, we’re inundated with images of perfectly flawless women everywhere we look — men are, too. And so often, we’ve internalized this idea that we have to look like that in order to look good or for men to find us attractive. There’s a lot of pressure on women to look a certain way, and that way often involves a lot of prep — like shaving, make up, hairstyling, and other secrets that I’d have to kill you if I told you. If you want to be mad about how long your lady takes to get ready, blame the patriarchy, not your girlfriend.

2. Wanting To Cuddle After Sex

Postcoital bliss is different for everyone. Some people like to cuddle up close, while other people are touched out. But if your ladyfriend is all about the snuggles after doing the deed, there may be a good reason for it. Sex and arousal release oxytocin, sometimes called the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin promotes a feeling of bonding and closeness with a partner. So, essentially, your girlfriend wants to cuddle after sex because science. But, lucky for you, science also reveals that couples that spend more time in physical contact after sex are more satisfied with their sex lives and their relationships in general. Your lady might actually be onto something there.

3. Complaining About Getting Hit On

Do you find that women just can’t take a compliment? Do you think they should be grateful when guys hit on them? Does the complaining make them seem ungrateful and maybe even a little bit bitchy? Well, it’s not as simple as it might seem. For many women, dealing with persistent, intrusive comments from men they don’t know is a regular part of their day. This can feel intrusive or threatening. Sometimes, when men think they’re giving us a compliment, we’re experiencing it as harassment. Plus, we never really know when an “harmless compliment” may end up escalating to physical violence just because we aren’t interested in the guy giving it.

4. Being Too Sensitive

Calling someone “sensitive” is usually a way to shut down or silence the issue that they’re bringing up. In women’s cases, often we’re told we’re being “too sensitive” when we’re expressing discomfort with something that we experienced. We’re actually speaking up for ourselves when we state that something hurt us. Instead of writing your girlfriend off as overly emotional, try to hear what she’s saying and consider why she’s reacting the way she is. As women, we often experience subtle sexism, called microaggressions (of which writing a woman off as overly sensitive is one), that a man who doesn’t experience sexism may never notice. When a woman brings attention to these things, it’s not sensitivity, but legitimate anger and hurt that she’s feeling.

5. Nagging About Everything

Generally, men are not used to being directed or bossed around, particularly by women. This is because as the world currently stands, men are more often in dominant positions in society whereas women are not. So, often when a female partner reminds her boyfriend to do something, particularly when she asks more than once, it’s seen as nagging behavior when really, it’s just a woman giving some sort of direction to a guy. Plus, if you actually did the thing you said you’d do when you said you would do it, she wouldn’t have to ask you more than once and that would solve the nagging problem completely.

6. Asking "Do I Look Fat In This Outfit?"

Consider this one “fishing for compliments.” When so much of our value as women is placed on how we look (see No. 1 above), it means a lot to know that our partners find us attractive. And while there are a whole host of issues with the equation of “fat” with “looking bad,” at its root, this question is really just a desire for our partners tell us they think we’re pretty.

7. Always Wanting To Be Introduced To Friends and Family

When you introduce a girl to the people you care about, you let her know that you care about her, too. Keeping a relationship siloed off from the rest of your life may send the message that you’re embarrassed by her, or that she’s not an important part of her life. And if that's the case, maybe you two aren't meant for each other after all.

8. Doing Things In Groups All The Time

In a world that’s often unsafe for women, we’re taught from a very young age how we can keep ourselves safe. Often, we’re told never to walk or travel alone in order to avoid being raped or assaulted. And while this isn’t a particularly useful rape-prevention method, this kind of thinking is ingrained in many women from the time we’re little. We also may be less likely to experience street harassment or unwanted attention if we walk through the bar to the bathroom as a group — there’s power in numbers, after all. Plus, it gives us a few minutes to talk about you.

9. Always Asking “What’s Wrong?” Or “What Are You Thinking?”

Let’s face it, men aren’t taught to communicate all that well, nor are they encouraged to talk about their feelings (see No. 3 above). And, maybe you didn’t know this, but women aren’t mind readers (I know, you’re shocked). When we ask you these questions, we’re really just asking you to talk to us. We want you to let us in, to tell us what’s going on, because that’s how relationships work. We can’t be supportive (or fix something we did wrong) if we don’t know what you’re feeling about something.